The Two Ballerinas

Published on by Catherine

The garden is currently getting a good watering from above. The wind (thankfully) dropped earlier in the week and the rain arrived on Thursday. I’ve had to take the hose to a good number of plants this week so I’m happy to see the rain as the garden was parched. Now I’d appreciate if it would kindly pause for a while to let me get on with some essential garden jobs that I’d love to tackle today. I’m fairly optimistic that will happen later today.

Moving on to the subject of this Saturday’s post, the first ‘Ballerina’ is the lovely Tulip ‘Ballerina’ that has made me very happy this week by flowering. T. ‘Ballerina’ is a beautiful, elegant, lily-flowered tulip with petals of orange, flushed with red and yellow. To top that off, it’s perfumed. I’m smitten with this one!

Tulip ‘Ballerina’
Tulip ‘Ballerina’ with hazy Forget-me-nots in the foreground and the rich purple of Tulip ‘Saigon’ behind

The second Ballerina is Amelanchier × grandiflora ‘Ballerina’ which is grown as a small tree or a shrub. It’s grown as a tree here and is now too tall for me to reach the taller branches for photographs. It sits in front of Acer ‘Bloodgood’ and when the two get their timing right, the Acer provides a good, strong purple backdrop that shows off the Amelanchier’s white blossom. This year the Acer is a bit late and the leaves are not fully out yet. That will probably happen within a matter of days or at most, a week, but it’s unlikely that the white blossom will still be on the Amelanchier.

Amelanchier × grandiflora ‘Ballerina’
The Acer in the background is sparse, but will thicken up fairly soon and will produce a less distracting background

I’ve grown Tulip ‘Uncle Tom’ during the past two years and it’s one I’m really partial to. Sometimes it’s been in a border and at others it’s been in a pot. It’s a short tulip with a height of 30cm and holds up very well against strong April winds.

Tulip ‘Uncle Tom’ with T. ‘Ballerina’ in the background
Tulip ‘Uncle Tom’ starting to open

Narcissus ‘Thalia’ has been incredibly difficult to photograph this year, entirely due to the high winds we’ve been experiencing over the past few weeks. Apologies about going on about the winds, this is the third consecutive April we’ve had easterly winds that have ripped through the garden and brought temperatures down to freezing. I’m sure this area isn’t alone in having them and I’m sure those of you who have, will understand. 😀

They’re beginning to fade now, but Thalias’ white blooms and lovely perfume are always welcome when they appear in the garden each year.

My favourite Narcissus, ‘Thalia’

Forget-me-nots ramble across the garden and I’m happy to leave them to establish themselves wherever they will. It appears to be one of those plants you either adore or dislike. I only dig them up if I have another plant that needs the space, and I rarely discard them. I’m happy to find them a new home whether it’s in a border or a pot or another Forget-me-not lover’s garden.

Forget-me-nots quickly spread their blooms around the borders, creating a sea of blue
Forget-me-nots

I’ll leave you with the final image of T. ‘Ballerina’ surrounded by some of her springtime friends.

Spring favourites

That’s it for this week, gardening friends. Have a lovely weekend, and if you’re out in your garden, I hope the sun is shining brightly on you!

Jim is currently hosting Six on Saturday, do pop over to see what others have been sharing – there are always beautiful plants and flowers from all over the world.

24 thoughts on “The Two Ballerinas”

    1. Thank you, Fred, I’m glad you like the photos. The tulips on your blog are looking great as well as the unlabeled aeonium – which I’d love to be able to grow here!

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    1. Thank you, Catharine. I’m certain better weather will arrive before too long – it certainly wasn’t today though. I thought I’d at least be able to spend some time in the greenhouse, but the cold sent me back indoors with icy-cold fingers! May will bring change. I hope! 😁

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  5. Ballerina is a favourite of mine too, such an elegant tulip. I like your ‘Uncle Tom’ too. Every time I see an Amelanchier on a blog I think I’d like to have one, but I know the blossom is fleeting and with the wind and rain I get, probably a bad choice.

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    1. The blossom on my crab apple isn’t fully open yet, Jude and I can see from my window that the grass below is full of little petals. It’s such a shame when strong winds come along (they’ve been back again today) and blow it off the trees before it’s had the chance to establish.

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  6. By looking carefully at your lovely photographs I am beginning to appreciate all the various forms of tulips, and how to recognise them. I feel that Ballerina is just waiting to do a Grand Jete onto my plant wish list!

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  7. ‘Ballerina’, the tulip is indeed a beauty Catherine. I have a large blue pot planted with some thirty bulbs which looks a treat at the moment. I like your other dancing lady too. ‘Thalia’ is my all time favourite daffodil. It stands up so well to inclement weather too considering it’s height. We could certainly do with some of your rain here.

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    1. I think your 30 Ballerina tulips must look quite stunning in a large blue pot, Anna. Thalia has been almost horizontal in the recent winds, but it’s strong and bounced back up once the winds died down. Hope your dry spell doesn’t go on too long.

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  9. Your Ballerina tulips are so beautiful, with purple ones behind, they really pop in your photo! The gales soon finished off my Amelanchier blossom, but it was beautiful for a couple of weeks! Thalia is my favourite white narcissus, such a good one.

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    1. Thank you, Pauline. Blossom is beautiful, but so fragile. Thalia outlives all the other narcissus varieties (that I’ve tried!).

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    1. Thank you, Helen. Maybe it’s time to try out a packet of seeds and see how you like it in your own garden. I’d hope that you would be pleasantly surprised. 😊

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    1. Thank you, Dana. I’m enjoying the Ballerina tulips – I think they’re really elegant and wish that I’d grown them years ago. The Thalias are past their best now but still have a light scent. 😊

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